The present invention relates generally to the screening of viscous materials onto a surface through a mask having a plurality of openings therein and, more particularly, relates to an improved process and apparatus for screening of metallic pastes and the like onto ceramic greensheets and other materials.
Ceramic greensheets having metallic pastes thereon are used in the electronics industry to form so-called packages or substrates. After the ceramic greensheets have been formed into the packages or substrates, semiconductor devices or chips may be mounted thereon. Such packages or substrates are also often called chip carriers.
A key step in the manufacturing process is the deposition of the metallic pastes. The metallic pastes are used to form wiring lines on the surface of the ceramic greensheets and vias in the ceramic greensheets which electrically connect different layers of wiring lines. The metallic pastes may be deposited by screening through a mask.
In one form of screening process, a low pressure paste nozzle forces the metallic paste through a mesh mask. This process is often referred to as mesh screening. The pastes used in mesh screening generally have low viscosity.
In a second form of screening process, a high pressure paste nozzle xe2x80x9cextrudesxe2x80x9d paste through a metallic mask. This process is often referred to as extrusion screening. The pastes used in extrusion screening generally have high viscosity.
While the present invention is more directed to extrusion screening, the purposes and the advantages of the present invention have general applicability to mesh screening as well. Thus, while the following discussion will be centered on extrusion screening, it should be understood that mesh screening is not excluded from the scope of the invention.
In extrusion screening, the wiring lines and vias may be filled in a single pass. However, the present inventors have discovered that when attempting to screen wiring lines that are perpendicular to the screening direction, some wiring lines experience areas which are partially or totally devoid of paste material. Such areas are called mousebites and dirty opens. Mousebites and dirty opens are undesirable because they present yield and reliability issues and thus they should be avoided.
Also in extrusion screening, the mask is cleaned each time a ceramic greensheet is screened. The more metallic pastes that are left on the mask, the harder it is to clean the mask. Thus, masks with less screening residue are desired.
Various improvements have been proposed by those skilled in the art of screening.
Nanzai U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,837, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses an apparatus featuring paste spreading squeegees which are used to deposit and then spread a paste through a stencil mask.
Gaynes et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,700, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses several nozzles for the deposition of solders through a mask. The nozzles utilized have a thin leading lip and a thicker trailing lip. The trailing lip, as noted in the disclosure, operates as a squeegee. The trailing lip may be rigid or, to enhance its squeegee action, may be flexible. Such a trailing lip will not improve line height for those lines that are perpendicular to the direction of screening nor will the amount of metallic paste removed from the mask be minimized.
Freitag U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,538, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses stencil mask printing of solder wherein a quantity of solder is deposited on the mask and then squeegeed into the openings in the mask.
Tani U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,540, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses apparatus for the printing of viscous material onto a circuit board through a screen. The screening apparatus is a dispenser with a housing, a chamber for containing the viscous material and a slit-like bottom aperture. A height adjustable trailing squeegee blade is provided to apply variable pressure on the viscous material through the screen.
Murakami U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,937, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a screen printing apparatus having a group of paste dispensers and a squeegee unit. In one embodiment, the paste dispensers and squeegee unit move in unison. However, it is also noted in Murakami that the squeegee unit and paste dispensers do not operate at the same time.
Notwithstanding the aforementioned prior art, there remains a need for an apparatus and process for reliably and dependably depositing a paste through a mask.
Accordingly, it is a purpose of the present invention to have an apparatus and process which reliably and dependably deposits a paste through a mask.
It is another purpose of the present invention to have an apparatus and process which deposits a paste through a mask without forming mousebites and dirty opens in the deposited pattern.
It is yet another purpose of the present invention to have an apparatus and process which deposits a paste through a mask and minimizes the amount of paste left on the mask.
These and other purposes of the present invention will become more apparent after referring to the following description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The purposes of the invention have been achieved by providing, according to a first aspect of the present invention a screening apparatus comprising:
a paste dispensing apparatus for dispensing a paste onto a workpiece;
a squeegee assembly in close proximity to the paste dispensing apparatus for squeegeeing the paste over the workpiece; and
a means for translating the paste dispensing apparatus and squeegee assembly in unison with the squeegee assembly trailing behind the paste dispensing apparatus;
wherein, in operation, the paste dispensing apparatus and squeegee assembly are placed adjacent to a workpiece and the paste dispensing apparatus and squeegee assembly are translated by the translating means in unison such that the paste is dispensed by the paste dispensing apparatus and then squeegeed by the trailing squeegee assembly, the squeegee assembly being in contact with the workpiece at the same time as the paste is being dispensed.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of screening a workpiece through a mask with a screening apparatus comprising a paste dispensing apparatus and a squeegee assembly, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a mask having a plurality of openings over a workpiece;
placing the screening apparatus adjacent to the mask;
translating the screening apparatus over the mask while simultaneously (i) dispensing a paste onto the mask and (ii) squeegeeing the paste with the squeegee assembly to force the dispensed paste into the mask openings and to remove excess paste from the mask.